The Destiny That Binds Us
by Helel the Fallen
Summary: Naruto was faced without a choice. He alone must bare the burden of being the 'Child of Prophecy' due to events predetermined from birth. However, what if things went differently? Minato knew what his son would come to face. So he decided...and with that choice, Naruto grows in a world void of Chakra. Here, he will carve his own name. Here...he will take hold of his own fate!


**I do NOT own Naruto or Highschool of the Dead! Stay tuned for a short A/N at the end of the chapter. **

* * *

He had failed. He, the Fourth Hokage. The Yellow Flash. The man said to be the most powerful Shinobi of his generation, capable of ending entire armies within seconds…_had failed_. Regret bubbled up and squeezed at his very core, as sweat dripped from his brow from the sheer amount of concentration this final technique required. It took all of his will to ignore the terrible feeling, the shame and guilt.

Behind him, smoke and fire painted a horrifying picture over his beloved home – The Leaf Village. While a monstrous creature, with nine long slender tails decimated its people. He could hear the yells from his brave Shinobi, fighting to their very last to protect what was precious to them.

"That masked man…_that bastard!_" he whispered, hands a blur as he drew seal after seal on the soft grass.

Next to him, his beautiful wife lay motionless. Eyes half-lidded, not a single spark of the fire that he fell in love with. It pained him to look at her, to see her this way! However, that wasn't what hurt the most. No… As he finished the final seal, Minato Namikaze turned to the small bundle held tightly in the lifeless body of its mother.

Silent as the grave.

'_Hopefully asleep._' He mused grimly.

Standing to his full height, the man said to be faster than light took a brief pause – admiring what would be his last seconds among the living. This would be his final resting place, his body would fall here…and his soul would be devoured by death itself.

_'I won't even be able to see you in the afterlife…Kushina, my love._"

He had failed his village, his people, and the love of his life. However, he'd be even more damned if he failed his son.

"My son…Naruto." He whispered, voice light yet carrying a deep undertone of regret.

The powerful man crouched over the form of his one true love, trying his hardest to fight back the tears at her scattered crimson hair and bloodstained cheeks. What was once colorful and full of life, was now dull and gray. Yet…a small smile graced her features. Her last sight being the man she loved, and the child they bore together.

'_She trusts me. She trusts me to make sure he makes it out of this!_'

Making sure to be gentle, he scooped up the child – _his child_ – and gave a small sigh of relief at the small movement of the lungs. He hadn't failed, he wouldn't fail!

Moving a bit of the blanket he was wrapped around, Minato let a soft smile grace his worn face. "A full head of hair, blond too. Just like me." He whispered.

Here…he could fight it no longer. Salty tears traced his cheeks as he wept. For his home. His family. His son.

"I'm so sorry Naruto. I never wanted this, neither of us did…" he continued to weep, as he moved to place the child in the center of the complex seal next to his mother. "I wanted to be a great dad, and shower you with love. I wanted to come home after a busy day to you and your mother…I…I wanted to p-protect you…both of you."

Reaching over his shoulders, he pulled the iconic white trench coat from his form and wrapped it around his child. Then, pulled out a small book – 'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja' it read. He then placed it by the child, and offered a final heart wrenching smile as he began to fly through complicated hand signs. No doubt beginning the Jutsu that would hopefully save his son from a life of torment.

"The fox can't be stopped…and that man, he would raise the Earth in search of you. Tonight, there has been too much pain and loss. I know this…"

He was approaching the end. The blond Hokage could feel the spectral form forming behind him. He could hear its whispers, as it began its own preparations.

"Shinigami…I ask of you one thing. My son…please, send him away. Somewhere far away."

'**Your son mortal…is a key factor in the survival of this realm. If I was to send him away, you would be damning your people, and this world all together.**'

It paused, allowing the information to settle. Minato felt himself waver…could he do this? Could he condemn the entire Elemental Nations? For his own selfish gain? In those brief seconds, his entire life played out before him. The people he'd met, the experiences he'd shared.

'**Know this mortal. The fate of this realm…it means nothing to one such as me. This plane has been abandoned by the Gods, for the actions of its people. We care not for those who would abuse our power. This choice, is yours to make alone.**'

Minato allowed the words of the God to settle in, and as he pondered it more and more – one word continued to make its presence known to him – _War. _Throughout history it was a constant factor. Even in his own short life.

"We…we have done nothing but fight, and kill. We are a society born from it, and so...we shall die in it."

He knew all too well what would occur if he changed his mind. His son would be in the center of it all, the center of a War he never had a choice in. No matter how much he believed that Naruto would break that endless cycle, he just could not do it. He, as a father…would never damn his own son to solving the problems of generations' of greed and hatred alone.

"Send him away. Somewhere where he could make his own life. Have his own choices. Where he could truly live _free_." The Kage whispered, approaching the end of the long and tiring seal process.

'**Very well…a task such as this requires equal payment, and your soul alone is not enough. What will you do mortal?**"

Minato found it in him to give a small grin, as he landed on the final seal "I will give to you the soul of an immortal beast. Plant half of the Kyubi into my son, and take the other half…along with me. Forever."

The reaper paused, and then felt its pale lips twitch as it grinded its teeth onto the blade in its mouth. With this, the Elemental Nations would have to save itself…and the threat of _that_ creature ever being born once more would disappear forever.

'**Very well, Minato Namikaze. Your terms have been found agreeable. Your son shall be sent to a different plain, a dimension void of Chakra. There…he will establish himself as he chooses. Now…the payment.**"

Minato nodded, and with a final cry allowed his Chakra to flow freely. Lighting up the grassy field in a spectacular show of power. '_Please, be safe Naruto. I know wherever you will go, you'll make your mother and I proud. We both love you…we will always love you._'

"**Shiki Fujin**! (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)"

The effect was instantaneous. The Shinigami extended two spectral arms, one flying off through miles of forest and land before tearing into the very flesh of the still rampaging fox within the flaming village. The other already pulling on the soul of Minato. In a single tug, the very essence of the most powerful Biju flew towards the field, the fox screaming at the top of its lungs until its physical body simply collapsed. Only for it to disappear in a massive cloud of smoke.

* * *

"What!?" A single eye widened behind a yellow mask. As the sole cause of all this destruction growled.

The Masked Man watched as his 'pet' seemingly froze up, before letting out a howl of pure pain and then fell, defeated by some unknown force. He felt the connection between him and the Kyubi break, and as his rage climbed to dangerous heights, the menace could only think of one person responsible.

"Namikaze!" he whispered, venom dripping from every letter uttered.

The very fabric of space began to warp around him as he quivered in ungodly rage, and then he was gone. Leaving nothing behind.

* * *

"Arrrrrgggghhhh!" Minato cried, eyes wide as his very soul was ripped away from his body. He could hear the Shinigami chuckling behind him, seemingly enjoying the pain he was causing.

The seals under young Naruto began to move and twist, slithering around like a snake as they crawled towards his naval. The soul of the monstrous fox suspended above it, unseen to anyone else but the older blond Namikaze.

'**Kurama…you are once again bound to another mortal. This time however, will be different. I hope that one day you may see through your blind rage. Just as he deserves his own fate, as do you. Until then…sleep, fragment of the Beast.**'

The powerful God allowed the blade held between his jaws to fall, and just as it did the soul of the great beast was suddenly sliced in two. It however, was not done there. The Shinigami began to chant in a language that seemed unintelligible. The result was half of the fox spirit being absorbed into the naval of the child, while the other was absorbed into Minato himself.

**'It has been done Mortal**.' the great God spoke, watching as Minato fell to the ground. Wisps of red Chakra trailing off his now pale flesh, barley able to keep himself up. The only thing tying him to the mortal plane being the final string of Chakra connected to the Gods spectral form '**Say what you will, and then drift into nothing.**'

The proud man stumbled to his child's side, aware of the now awake and crying toddler.

"N-Naruto..." he whispered weakly, all of his strength slowly leaving him "N-Never let anyone t-" a glob of blood suddenly spilled from his mouth and onto the iconic coat that protected his child's naked form, staining the white fabric.

Yet he still found the strength to speak.

"Never let a-anyone tell you…t-that you can't. You…you are my son, and I will a-always believe in you. M-Make me and your mother proud…son."

The last word was barley a whisper, as the most powerful Kage to date slowly fell next to his still crying child. His vision blurry and growing dark, his final view being of his sons' bright blue eyes…and the smiling face of his beautiful wife.

'_I failed you Kushina, but I didn't fail our son…I hope that you can forgive me._' With that, one of the most powerful Shinobi to ever live...passed.

The field was eerily quiet, as the spectral form of the Shinigami consumed the soul of Minato Namikaze. Before its haunting eyes landed on the crying form of one Naruto Namikaze.

**'A pity child. I would have greatly enjoyed seeing you save, or destroy this plane. Now, it is up to them to save themselves**.'

A golden glow began to outline the child, as its cries grew softer until it was once again asleep.

'**Your path is now yours to carve. You, who will be the final fragment of this cursed land.**'

The child slowly levitated off the grassy plain, as the glow grew brighter and brighter. Then, in a blinding flash of light. He was gone. The Masked Man arrived seconds later to find nothing but a broken seal, and the bodies of two of his greatest enemies lying still. Anger coursed through his very being as he felt the presence of the Kyubi, along with another smaller one disappear altogether.

It was in that second that Obito Uchiha unleashed his rage in an ear splitting cry, before he too disappeared into nothing.

* * *

**Now then. Let's begin. This is my take on a Naruto/Highschool of the Dead fic. I started out a bit differently. I figured, hey, what if Minato decided he didn't want to burden Naruto with the fate of an entire World like that, without even giving him a chance to make his own life. This was spurred on by the death of Kushina, earlier on through the release of the Kyubi. **

**So yes, Naruto has Chakra, but without Jutsu he won't be a powerhouse. Instead, he'll slowly be learning how to utilize it throughout the story. So in certain situation, he will be stronger, faster, and overall a super human just as most Chakra users are. As for Kurama and the plot, well you'll have to wait and see.**

**Key things I'd like to point out to you readers. **

**While I understand that HoTD (Highschool of the Dead) is a pervy show. I want to keep this serious, that's not to say that there won't be a bit of boobs here and there *cough* but, this is a story about a world thrown into pretty much the end of times. So uhh, you know. It will get pretty serious at certain points. **

**I do have a PLOT and a reason for everything. I've been planning this out for a couple of months now. So there is a reason, and necessity for everything. Even why there are Zombies yes.**

**Just because Naruto has Chakra, it does not mean he's unbeatable. He will barley even understand how to control it, let alone use it. By normal standards, he will have a slightly tougher body and higher endurance and stamina for obvious reasons (i.e being from the Elemental Nations/Being a Namikaze/Uzumaki/Having Kyubi.) Those in themselves are already his strong points. **

**No JUTSU, at least not until the very end of the story when he'll need them. And even those he will create himself, with some imagination and reference. Most of the story will be him using weapons, just like everyone else, along with some Chakra related abilities.**

**This probably will be a Harem, to keep it in the HoTD spirit. But ALL of his relationships will take time, and some serious development. A story like this THRIVES on character development. **

**Anyways, with most of that being said. Next chapter will be A LOT longer, as this was just an introduction. So try and give it a shot will you, review! Let me know what you think. Till next time guys!**

**Helel out! **


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